***image2***All over Palestine, protests have filled the streets in an upsurge of determination to continue the resistance. Tens of thousands have voiced their outrage at the Zionist crimes in Gaza and Lebanon while denouncing Arab and international complicity. More than ever, it is evident that the Zionist project â while denying Palestinian existence â threatens the people in the whole Middle East.
On the first of August, thousands of protesters converged on Ramallah in a powerful demonstration called for by the National and Islamic Forces, the Trade Unions, the womenâs movement, and civil society organizations. People marched through the city center, carrying Palestinian and Lebanese flags. The march ended in Al Manara Square, where speakers called on the United Nations to place sanctions on Israel and for Israeli leaders to be tried in front of the International Criminal Court. Representatives of the organizers denounced the US-Israeli project for a âNew Middle Eastâ that will divide the Arab states into religiously and ethnically separate cantons. The plan has been exposed as a tool to stop the resistance throughout the Arab world. They also spoke out against the Qana massacres committed by the Zionist forces. This demonstration symbolizes the Palestinian message to the world: No place for Occupation in Palestine or Lebanon. Speakers further underlined their right to resist and to stand up against the Zionist wars. They attacked the silence and complicity of Arab leaders, which contributes to the murder of the Lebanese and Palestinian people.
In response to the second massacre in Qana perpetrated by Zionist forces in less than 10 years, the Islamic and National Activities Committee called for a march from the municipality of Nablus to Martyrsâ Square in the city center. The protest highlighted the continuity of Zionist aggression in Lebanon and Palestine. Protestors carried Palestinian and Lebanese flags and called for continued resistance. They held up placards condemning the US backed war and the Arab leaders who do nothing while scores of people are killed every day. The speakers further called for the release of all Palestinian political prisoners from Israeli dungeons.
In Balata refugee camp hundreds of children staged a protest in front of the UNWRA office at the main entrance of the camp. The protest showed their solidarity with the children assassinated in Qana. Ten years ago, Zionist forces bombed the UN building in Qana killing dozens of people. In this round of Israeli crimes, the UN played a major part in opening the way for massacres of the Lebanese people by refusing to provide shelter in a UN building in southern Lebanon, thus making people vulnerable to subsequent bombing by the Occupation Forces. The youth carried placards condemning the war and denouncing US support for Israeli crimes. They carried flags and raised their voices to decry crimes against children.
In Hebron, thousands of people marched from Hussain Ibn Ali mosque in Ein Sara Street to Manara Square in the Hebron city center. In the square, people gathered to listen and support speeches held in protest of the Israeli massacre that cost nearly 60 lives, 37 of them children. The placards contained slogans against the US-Israeli war and the occupation. Representatives of the Palestinian political parties held speeches underlining the national consensus that has emerged through the popular demonstrations.
In Gaza City, a march was organized by the National and Islamic forces. Thousands marched to support the Lebanese people and the resistance. Demonstrators filled the streets of the city center with chants and slogans until they reached the yard in front of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Speeches confirmed the unity of Palestinians in their struggle against the Occupation, while denouncing the silence of the Arab world and calling upon the international community to end their support for Zionist plans in Palestine and the region.
***image3***In Sakhnin, in the northern Galilee, 4000 people from throughout the district demonstrated against the massacres and the war in Lebanon and Palestine. The protest was organized by the popular committee in the city. It was joined by people from the âTriangleâ area â Ar Raba, Deir Hanna and Sharur. The protesters marched through the city center carrying Palestinian flags and demanding an immediate end to the war. At the end point, in front of Martyrsâ Grave monument, speeches were delivered and a prayer was held for the people that have been killed.
In Yaffa dozens of Palestinian lawyers from â48 demonstrated against the war. Their slogans asserted the unity of the people from Gaza to Lebanon and called for an immediate stop to the reckless wars on Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq.
On the 2nd of August, hundreds of people in Tubas gathered to protest in front of the Red Cross and handed a memorandum to the organization highlighting the suffering of the Palestinian and Lebanese people and the responsibility of the international community to stop the war crimes.
On the 4th of August, in Bethlehem the National and Islamic forces organized a demonstration that was joined by thousands of protestors, starting from the Church of the Nativity and proceeding through the city center to Cinema Street. In al Khader, the weekly demonstration was dedicated to protests against the massacres in Lebanon and Gaza. Some 200 people vowed to continue resistance against the Zionist plans in Palestine and the region.
In Bilâin 300 people – dressed in black to commemorate the massacre in Qana – marched to the wall. As usual, the Occupation forces attempted to brutally disperse the march by shooting tear gas into the crowd. Clashes ensued as village youth answered with stones to reassert their right to freedom and their land.
In Tire, northern Galilee, the Democratic National List organized a demonstration that was joined by Azmi Bishara and Jamal Zahalka. The demonstration called for an immediate end to the war and praised the steadfastness of the people in Lebanon and Gaza. The speakers denounced the war as a part of the US plan for the âNew Middle Eastâ and predicted that the Israeli side will be defeated. They accused Amir Peretz of responsibility for the war crimes committed in this latest round of Zionist aggression.
In Nazareth, the popular committee organized a popular conference to support Lebanon. Among the people taking part in the conference were the heads of the Arab parties represented in the Knesset. Speakers from the Golan Heights and Lebanon contributed via phone.
In Lijdide and Mukur, near Akka, a demonstration began from the square at the entrance of Mukur. Marchers carried placards against the war and demanded an immediate end. Slogans denounced the Zionist government as a government of criminals and made it clear that anyone who remains silent about these crimes is complicit with them.
On the 6th of August, hundreds of people from Beit Sahour joined a demonstration full of symbolism. Carrying three coffins, the protestors marched from the Orthodox Club through the streets of the old city towards the popular market, where they buried the coffins. One of the coffins symbolized the Arab League, another one the UN, and the last one the international conscience.
On the 7th of August, in Khan Younis, children began a protest in front of the municipality in support of the Palestinian and Lebanese people who are challenging the Israeli war machine. They carried placards âWe are the children under âSummer Rainâ which the Occupation started in Gaza and extended to Lebanon.â The protest is to last continuously for three days in the center of Khan Younis.
In Jerusalem, Islamic, Christian and Druze activists organized a protest in support of the Palestinian and Lebanese people. The walked from the Church of the Ascension, through the old markets, and into the Al Aqsa mosque. The protests concluded with a press conference at Asbat Gate. Speakers demanded an immediate end to the war and called upon the Arab countries to unite against the Zionist-US onslaught in order to rescue Palestine and Lebanon. They further demanded an exchange of prisoners.
Each night in Ramallah, people rally with speeches and nationalistic music in Al Manara Square.